Weather conditions help firefighting efforts

Cooler temperatures and increased moisture during the past week have helped the fire situation in Lincoln and Sanders counties, but officials are warning that the fire season is not yet over.

“The fires are all parked right now, but still idling,” said Kootenai National Forest resource officer Quinn Carver. “We’re watching the weather. If we get moisture, that’ll help. If we don’t, it could be a long month.”

The Northeast Kootenai Complex, which includes the Barnaby, Marston and Sunday fires, was expected to be turned over from Shawn Pearson’s Northern Rockies Type II incident management team to Gabe Holguin’s Southwest Type III team at 6 p.m. Thursday evening. Pearson’s team has reached their 21-day assignment limit. Confirmation of the change of command was unavailable as of press time.

The Marston fire, the largest in the complex, covers approximately 7,000 acres and is listed at 30 percent containment. The team’s crews are working east of Jager Mine to reinforce the fire line and keep the fire south of Deep Creek. The fire’s advance has been halted on the west and south-southwest sides.

The Barnaby fire is being monitored by air, but active firefighting operations on the ground are impossible due to the steep and rugged terrain. The team has air support available to drop water on the fire as needed.

The Sunday fire is listed at 100 percent containment, after 60 acres were burned. The fire is currently in patrol status.

The Clark Fork Complex, covering fires in the Kootenai National Forest and Idaho Panhandle National Forest, is moving into a demobilization status. A force reduction of 99 people between Monday and Tuesday is expected in the Clark Fork Complex.

Residents previously evacuated along the U.S. Highway 56 corridor from mile marker 20.5 to the U.S. Highway 200 junction have been allowed to return to their homes, but the entire area is still under a pre-evacuation notice.

An infrared photography mission flown over the fire area Tuesday night indicates there has been no growth in the acreage of the fires within the complex. The images also showed a substantial reduction in the areas of heat existing throughout the complex. The complex comprises nearly 16,000 acres.

The Goat Rock Complex, the closest to Libby, was listed at 10,150 acres as of Thursday morning. The complex includes the Berray Mountain, Poplar Point, Dad, Vimy, Chippewa and Pine Ridge fires, in addition to the Klatawa fire which prompted the evacuation of a handful of Libby residents during the past weekend.

In a press release, Goat Rock Complex public information officer Carmen Thomason wrote the weather has halted fire growth in the complex, despite the visibility of smoke inside the city.

“The fires in the Goat Rock Complex continued creeping and smoldering, resulting in minimal to no fire growth,” she wrote. “Operational resources on the Klatawa fire said that low cloud cover in the afternoon trapped smoke from the heavy smoldering fuels and with the gusty winds of the day smoke pushed down Granite Creek drainage into the valley. This smoke was visible in Libby, but not a cause for concern as resources continue observing the fire and remained on the fire line into the evening.”

Crews on the Klatawa fire will continue to construct fire line and fuel breaks along Flower Creek Road and Granite Lake Road. To date, Thomason said, eight miles of fire line have been constructed to protect private property and structures. Construction of fire line in the area will continue during the weekend.

Cooler temperatures and more moisture are expected to continue during the coming weekend, as a broad low pressure system is moving through the area. Those conditions, should they materialize, will provide much-needed assistance to fire crews as they battle the fires in the area.